National Day of Action
Against Merrill Lynch

by Michelle Devine

On Wednesday, July 12 Chicago NOW worked with class repre-sentatives in the Merrill Lynch class action lawsuit to organize a national day of action against Merrill Lynch.

The purpose of this action was to bring public attention to the fact that Merrill Lynch refuses to bring the settle-ment agreement under Marybeth Cremin et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated to final resolution‹impacting more than 700 remaining class members. Also, since 1976, Merrill Lynch has either been under the oversight of the Federal Government or in litigation with its female employees for blatant and unlawful sex discrimination; and despite on-going oversight and litigation, the company continues to allow a discriminatory work environment to exist and lacks diversity in the workplace.

Direct actions occurred in Kansas City, MO.; Bakersfield, CA.; Fort Worth, TX.; New York City, NY.; and San Francisco, CA. Additionally, our sister chapter located in Champaign, IL contacted the local Merrill Lynch branch office seeking its support in pressuring company executives into addressing our concerns. Chicago NOW is working to schedule another meeting with Merrill Lynch to follow-up on its progress to resolve this settlement agreement and increase diversity. You can support our efforts by signing the following pledge and returning it to the Chicago NOW office at 30 E. Adams, Ste. 401, Chicago, IL 60603.